Congress
President Donald Trump signed into law House Resolution 6201, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act. The legislation contains several education-related items including:
• An emergency paid sick leave program that includes individuals unable to work because they are caring for a child who is home because of a virus-related school closing.
• An expansion of federal food assistance for families affected by a virus-related school closure of five or more days. The bill permits states to provide emergency food stamp assistance to families where a child would otherwise have been eligible to receive free or reduced-price school meals.
• The expansion of school meals. The resolution provides the U.S. Department of Agriculture new power to grant state waivers for federally subsidized school meals in the event of a school closure, including waivers to states that want to distribute food in different settings outside a school and allow flexibility on meal components.
Click here for a FAQ on Families First Coronavirus Response Act.
Primary Election
On March 16, Ohio Department of Health Director Dr. Amy Acton ordered Ohio’s polling stations to close for the March 17 primary election due to the widespread health threat posed by COVID-19. Gov. Mike DeWine and Secretary of State Frank LaRose subsequently announced the postponement of the primary election until June 2. The General Assembly will reconvene the week of March 23 to address legislation addressing the primary election as well as additional legislation needed to deal with COVID-19.
Ohio Department of Education
The Ohio Department of Education (ODE) released information to help districts continue to serve students with disabilities and provide school nutrition programs. Click here to view additional information released by ODE.
Posted by Nicole Piscitani on 3/20/2020